Tony Chung was launched in June after serving jail time period underneath safety regulation however mentioned he lived underneath fixed stress from authorities.
Tony Chung, the previous chief of a Hong Kong pro-independence group who was jailed underneath the territory’s nationwide safety regulation, has fled to the UK saying his life in Hong Kong was “full of worry”.
Chung, who was 20 when he was sentenced to three and a half years in prison in 2021 after pleading responsible to “secession“, mentioned in a social media publish that he had flown to the UK from Japan and arrived in London on the night of December 27 the place he “formally utilized for political asylum” on entry.
He shared an image of himself at UK arrivals together with his suitcase.
“Regardless that I had anticipated this present day previously, I nonetheless felt heavy after making up my thoughts,” wrote Chung, who as a young person headed the now-defunct Studentlocalism group. “Since I joined the political battle on the age of 14, I’ve all the time believed that Hong Kong is the one house of our Hong Kong nation, and we must always by no means be those to go away.”
Beijing imposed the nationwide safety regulation on Hong Kong in mid-2020, after big and generally violent pro-democracy protests had rocked the territory the earlier yr, claiming the laws was crucial to revive stability. The regulation punishes actions deemed as subversion, secession, collusion with overseas forces, and extremism with as much as life in jail, and has led to lots of of arrests. Others, together with elected politicians, activists and journalists have gone into exile.
Chung mentioned he had been launched from jail in June 2023 however was required to report frequently to the authorities.
“Up to now six months, with no earnings from any work, the nationwide safety cops saved on coercing and inducing me to affix them,” Chung wrote on Fb, saying the state of affairs had affected his bodily and psychological well being.
Elaborating on the state of affairs on X, Frances Hui, the coverage and advocacy coordinator for the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Basis, mentioned that in these conferences, Chung was “coerced to offer particulars of each interpersonal interplay that he made – who he met [names and contact info], the place they met [and] what they mentioned. In addition they obtained entry to his financial institution statements, monetary support purposes and many others …”
The officers additionally provided him cash to “snitch on others” and talked about arranging a visit to China, she added.
Chung mentioned he had additionally signed a doc that prohibited him from disclosing his interactions with the nationwide safety police, which meant he couldn’t search assist from a lawyer, and that he was satisfied that his civic freedoms would by no means be restored regardless of finishing his sentence.
“Each time I used to be interviewed by nationwide safety personnel, I used to be full of worry,” he wrote. “I used to be afraid that they might accuse me of endangering nationwide safety and ask me to show my innocence.”
Chung determined he would persuade the jail service to permit him to journey abroad for Christmas and submitted flight tickets to Okinawa, lodging and different data to safe the required permissions.
On the southern Japanese island, after searching for recommendation from folks and organisations in america, UK and Canada, he determined it was finest for him to journey to Britain.
Plenty of outstanding activists and politicians have secured asylum in London, whereas the UK has given all Hong Kong folks with British Nationwide Abroad (BNO) standing the precise to settle and a path to citizenship.
Hong Kong police have issued “bounties” for greater than a dozen Hong Kong activists living overseas, with chief superintendent of the police nationwide safety division Steve Li alleging: “All of them betrayed their very own nation and betrayed Hong Kong.”
Hong Kong was a British colony for greater than a century till 1997, and the UK authorities says the safety regulation breaches treaty commitments Beijing made forward of the resumption of sovereignty.
Writing on X, UK Safety Minister Tom Tugendhat welcomed Chung to London.
Chung mentioned he deliberate to proceed his research, and reiterated his dedication to democracy.
“So long as the Hong Kong folks by no means quit, the seeds of freedom and democracy will in the future sprout once more,” he wrote.